Comments on: The trouble with the new “reformed” mortgage appraisal process

By: Around the web, September 16

Around the web, September 16 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:19:41 +0000

[...] “The Appraisal Debacle: How Not to Regulate” [Jack Guttentag, Yahoo Finance, via Fountain] [...]

By: Pete

Pete — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:15:17 +0000

If none of the data required adjustment, then all appraisers with the same data would come up with the same value. I have never found a comparable sale that did not require some adjustment. In a market with few sales, comparables are hard to come by and required adjustments multiply. Competent appraisers can disagree on the amount of an adjustment and incompetent appraisers can be way off the mark. Then there are the less obvious differences such as zoning, deed restrictions, subtle locational differences, wetlands, etc. While one adjustment may result in a minor difference in value, disagreement on several adjustments can result in substantial differences in appraised value. I could go on for hours, but back to work trying to figure out this adjustment between deep water frontage and tidal flats.

By: concerned

concerned — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:38:11 +0000

you have to admit anyone with the data should be able to come up with the same appraisal, no?

900k is a lot of money i don’t care where you are

By: Anon E. Moose

Anon E. Moose — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:20:14 +0000

I’m a ‘Just the facts’ type, CF. No data is a fair shot. What the appraiser thinks is or is not “a heck of a lot of money” is irrelevant. The data either supports the appraisal or it doesn’t. You’re saying someone from Greenwich would blithely throw in another $500,000 over a nearly identical house on the same land down the block three months ago, while a ‘foreigner’ would not? I guess the “Greenwich premium” shows up in other places besides contractor quotes.

By: christopherfountain

christopherfountain — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:22:59 +0000

Why would you possibly think I would try to seriously reply to an insult?
See you.

By: Dizzy Appraiser

Dizzy Appraiser — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:11:26 +0000

That was a serious question, “What’s its worth?” …in the context of the example given, both as to your hypothetical listing function, and your lame blogger function, for what it’s worth.

By: christopherfountain

christopherfountain — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:46:09 +0000

Dizzy, the point of “the Professor”‘s column is that these days its forbidden to speak with appraisers.

By: Dizzy Appraiser

Dizzy Appraiser — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:36:01 +0000

And what did CF, the broker, tell our out-of-town friend the real value was, for what’s it worth?

By: christopherfountain

christopherfountain — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:56:10 +0000

Anon E. Moose, you haven’t lived until you’ve had an appraiser show up from, say, Stratford, with no access to the Greenwich MLS (they have to pay a fee to get that access and most won’t, considering they’re getting paid maybe $250 these days for the job) and who thinks that $900,000 is a heck of a lot of money for a house. It’s tough, and it’s inaccurate.

By: Anon E. Moose

Anon E. Moose — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:52:54 +0000

I don’t get the objection to “out of town appraisers”. Doesn’t this blatantly admit parochial interests inflated appraisals? What exactly could a ‘local’ appraiser glean from the same comp data not apparent to someone from “out of town”?

I say again – I never heard anyone in the house sales business complaining in 2005 when “hit the number” was all the rage.